“Find My Phone”: Short Film About Stolen Cell

[Megalith]

This is a short documentary that follows a stolen phone by means of spyware. To catch a thief…

The filmmaker, Anthony van der Meer, rigged an Android cellphone with Cerebus, a command-and-control system for Android that can survive a memory wipe. The app allowed van der Meer to record video, take photos, and even listen in on calls – all while tracking the phone around Amsterdam. Van der Meer pieced together a life out of fragments of the thief’s life and, when he finally faced the thief, he pulled back into anonymity, letting the phone go.

 

[JohnnyGatt]

It's one thing to track a phone it's another thing to stalk and record everything on it. What if he got it of a friend and had nothing to do with the theft? what if it was given to a 16 year old girl would it be ok to record her all the time? I think the filmmaker took it way too far.

 

[xX326Xx]

It's one thing to track a phone it's another thing to stalk and record everything on it. What if he got it of a friend and had nothing to do with the theft? what if it was given to a 16 year old girl would it be ok to record her all the time? I think the filmmaker took it way too far.

I'm on the fence with the subject, the phone was stolen, the person knew to wipe it, the intent was there. Since he had the ability to use the camera and hear the conversations he knew better so the 16 year old girl theory doesn't really have legs. In the end he did go too far. But karma, so in this case I'm fine with it.

 

[Kelthuron]

Just a thought, should a thief even have a right to privacy on a stolen device?

 

[PaulP]

The moral ambiguity of what the film maker did aside, this is an interesting peek into the life a a low-level criminal. There are many people with hopeless lives like this in the world, and they are in fact the source of most theft. It is sad and lamentable, however there will always be people like this who are, for whatever reason, too damaged to be a contributing member of society. And despite what many good hearted people think, they can't be fixed.